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<blockquote data-quote="jayoungr" data-source="post: 7181818" data-attributes="member: 6702445"><p><strong>Payback</strong></p><p></p><p>News of the well-dressed group's failures to help out with the slaads at the inn soon spread through the caravan. The next morning, Lai Angesstun dismissed them and tried to hire Eldkin and Orvustia back as his guards. Eldkin accepted for a sizeable raise in pay; Orvustia decided to stay in her position as Oyn Evenmoor's personal bodyguard.</p><p></p><p>A day or so from Daggerford, the caravan came to an unexpected stop, and word filtered back to the PCs that it was because of "a head in the road." Sure enough, when they made their way to the front of the line, they saw the head of a human man, with the word "OATHBREAKER" carved on his forehead, protruding from the ground. He appeared to be breathing, but he was fading in and out of consciousness and wasn't able to answer any questions. </p><p></p><p>With some urging from Edhelri Lewel, the PCs finally decided to rescue the man. As they were digging him out of the road, Atex noticed a Harper tattoo on the man's side. Once he was free, they revived him, gave him some food and liquid, and borrowed some fresh clothes for him from one of Gedsel's companions. (The outfit was surprisingly badly made, almost like ... a theatrical costume.)</p><p></p><p>Reid Sechepol then questioned the man, whose name was Carlon, about how he came to be buried in the road. Carlon explained that he had been traveling to Daggerford a few days earlier with his intended bride and her family: "I agreed to an arranged marriage. I thought it was time I settled down, and she had a respectable dowry and seemed like a nice person. But I didn't learn until I was almost to Daggerford, where the ceremony was to take place, that all of her relatives were bandits--and furthermore, that if I married into their family, I would be forced to join them. I had not desire to do that, so I broke off the contract there and then. </p><p></p><p>"They didn't take kindly to that, since they said I knew all their secrets. However, something in their code prevented them from killing me on the spot--or maybe they thought I would change my mind if they left me there for a few days. So they just buried me in the road, and ... what does my forehead say, anyway? I know they did <em>something</em> with a knife."</p><p></p><p>Landin helpfully told him what it said, and Carlon sighed. "I suppose it was to be expected."</p><p></p><p>Reid accepted the story and said he would consult with the other wagon owners. But once he'd left, and after Ariana identified herself as a Harper, Carlon told them the real story: he had been following a caravan from Baldur's Gate several days before. "There have been some suspicious shipments coming through there recently. I have reason to think that it's a large amount of stolen goods--money, art treasures, possibly some magic items. I was trying to learn who was moving it and why. But they caught me prying into one of their wagons, and, well, you see what their punishment was." When asked why the word "Oathbreaker" had been carved on his head, he answered, "I think they thought it would make anyone who found me less likely to dig me up."</p><p></p><p>The group quickly shared what they had learned about the plans of the Cult of the Dragon and mentioned that their own caravan was also full of cultists transporting treasure. They also told Carlon about their uneasy truce with the cultists. Carlon promised to inform some high-ranking Harpers of these matters as soon as they reached Daggerford.</p><p></p><p>"But you still should have gotten married to that girl," Aric added disapprovingly.</p><p></p><p><em>DM Notes: I was a bit heavy-handed in making Edhelri urge the group to dig up the man in the road. But the players were being probably far more cautious than their characters would have been. I suppose they suspected a metagame trap of some kind.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jayoungr, post: 7181818, member: 6702445"] [B]Payback[/B] News of the well-dressed group's failures to help out with the slaads at the inn soon spread through the caravan. The next morning, Lai Angesstun dismissed them and tried to hire Eldkin and Orvustia back as his guards. Eldkin accepted for a sizeable raise in pay; Orvustia decided to stay in her position as Oyn Evenmoor's personal bodyguard. A day or so from Daggerford, the caravan came to an unexpected stop, and word filtered back to the PCs that it was because of "a head in the road." Sure enough, when they made their way to the front of the line, they saw the head of a human man, with the word "OATHBREAKER" carved on his forehead, protruding from the ground. He appeared to be breathing, but he was fading in and out of consciousness and wasn't able to answer any questions. With some urging from Edhelri Lewel, the PCs finally decided to rescue the man. As they were digging him out of the road, Atex noticed a Harper tattoo on the man's side. Once he was free, they revived him, gave him some food and liquid, and borrowed some fresh clothes for him from one of Gedsel's companions. (The outfit was surprisingly badly made, almost like ... a theatrical costume.) Reid Sechepol then questioned the man, whose name was Carlon, about how he came to be buried in the road. Carlon explained that he had been traveling to Daggerford a few days earlier with his intended bride and her family: "I agreed to an arranged marriage. I thought it was time I settled down, and she had a respectable dowry and seemed like a nice person. But I didn't learn until I was almost to Daggerford, where the ceremony was to take place, that all of her relatives were bandits--and furthermore, that if I married into their family, I would be forced to join them. I had not desire to do that, so I broke off the contract there and then. "They didn't take kindly to that, since they said I knew all their secrets. However, something in their code prevented them from killing me on the spot--or maybe they thought I would change my mind if they left me there for a few days. So they just buried me in the road, and ... what does my forehead say, anyway? I know they did [I]something[/I] with a knife." Landin helpfully told him what it said, and Carlon sighed. "I suppose it was to be expected." Reid accepted the story and said he would consult with the other wagon owners. But once he'd left, and after Ariana identified herself as a Harper, Carlon told them the real story: he had been following a caravan from Baldur's Gate several days before. "There have been some suspicious shipments coming through there recently. I have reason to think that it's a large amount of stolen goods--money, art treasures, possibly some magic items. I was trying to learn who was moving it and why. But they caught me prying into one of their wagons, and, well, you see what their punishment was." When asked why the word "Oathbreaker" had been carved on his head, he answered, "I think they thought it would make anyone who found me less likely to dig me up." The group quickly shared what they had learned about the plans of the Cult of the Dragon and mentioned that their own caravan was also full of cultists transporting treasure. They also told Carlon about their uneasy truce with the cultists. Carlon promised to inform some high-ranking Harpers of these matters as soon as they reached Daggerford. "But you still should have gotten married to that girl," Aric added disapprovingly. [I]DM Notes: I was a bit heavy-handed in making Edhelri urge the group to dig up the man in the road. But the players were being probably far more cautious than their characters would have been. I suppose they suspected a metagame trap of some kind.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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